If you've been following the ongoing bizarre and incredibly disturbing case of Lori Daybell, a mother accused of murdering her own children, you might already know that she lived in Texas. If you would like to see a very thorough timeline of her whereabouts, some internet sleuths have established one for you here.

What you may not know is that Lori Daybell was crowned Mrs. Hays County during her time in Texas. Hays County is southwest of Austin and includes Buda, Kyle, and Dripping Springs. Being Mrs. Hays County qualified her to compete in the 2004 Mrs. Texas pageant.

I should note here that the "Mrs." pageant is different from the more widely known "Miss" pageant and was established to honor married women. Lori competed in the pageant whilst still married to her third husband Joseph Ryan, father of Tyree Ryan, who was 16 when she went missing and was later found dead and buried in her stepfather Charles Daybell's backyard in 2020.  Lori Daybell is currently on trial for her murder and also the murder of her adopted son J.J.

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Lori did compete in the Mrs. Texas pageant but lost Mrs. Houston Stephanie Guerrero.  The picture above is from the group routine performed by the women and that is Lori on the left-hand side with her cowboy hat raised. While she didn't win the contest, she did go on to win over $17K on Wheel of Fortune that year. I'm just relieved she didn't become a representative of our state at a national level.

Perhaps Lori lost her chance at the pageant title with this now incredibly ominous answer to the question, "What makes you tick?"

Being a good mom is very important to me, and a good wife and a good worker. And being all of those things together isn’t easy. So basically, I’m a ticking time bomb.

Lori's unusual past has been combed over deeply by journalists and internet sleuths alike. The tangled web of five marriages, multiple moves and her descent into arguably "cult" beliefs based loosely on Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has made for fascinating reading for true crime aficionados.

However, the sordid and strange details of her life should not distract us from what she's accused of, the murder of innocent children. In fact, these details should give us pause. A beautiful, seemingly normal, seemingly devout Christian woman may have killed her kids- either because she believed them to be "zombies" as some evidence points to, or because they were relics of a past that no longer served her massive ego. We may never know, but since this trial has already had major bombshells, perhaps we can get a little closer to the truth.

The Killers Behind These 5 Texas Cold Cases Still Roam Free

LOOK: 12 Unsolved Homicides by the Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers currently have 12 homicides that have gone cold and have not been solved or the suspect apprehended. These cases stem back to 1978.

If you have any information regarding any of the homicides below you are encouraged to call Texas Crimestoppers at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477) or you can submit a tip online here.

These Girls From Texas Went Missing In March

25 Girls from Texas who went missing in March are still missing as of April 10, 2023. These girls are from all across the State of Texas. Girls went missing from Dallas, San Antonio, Amarillo, Hockley, Houston, Odessa, and other cities across the state. They also range in age from 2 years old to 17. Please look through the pictures and see if you recognize anyone. Let's bring these girls home to their families.

 

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